Let Me Share the Burden-Redux
by Nemesis13
Summary: A technological breakthrough in the early 1980s instigates an imperial decree, all royal children must undergo prenatal genetic engineering to ensure a perfect ruling class. What happens when a vindictive immortal is put in charge and causes one Empress's child to have a twin, and how will this child change his fate? Refined and updated version of my original work, updates sporadic
1. Questionable Beginnings

_**I decided to do a "remastered" version of my first epic which has proven itself to be quite difficult to read at my current standards, expect retcons and revisions, please review**_

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 _ **Excerpt from the Britannian Journal of Medical Science, circa October 2, 1980 A.T.B.**_

 _Dr. Alius Zimmerman of the Pendragon Institute of Medicine has recently announced a breakthrough in nanobot induced genetic alteration and physiological enhancement implants to a stunned scientific community. No third parties have admitted awareness to the development of such cutting edge and morally questionable technologies but there are very few questioning the viability of these new advancements; it has been speculated that the controversial project was more then likely authorized by the Emperor himself as shortly after the announcement he ordered all future royal offspring to receive the benefits of the new implants and gene alterations..._

* * *

 _ **Pendragon: Undisclosed office inside N.B.D January 27, 2000 A.T.B**_

The incredibly bored immortal who had once gone by the name of Victavian zi Brittania was for lack of a better word furious, no scratch that, he was absolutely bloody _livid._ Not only was Charles shifting his attentions to that French trollop he had had the gall to regulate V.V., his own brother no less, to custodian of the Royal Bioengineering Division of the Pendragon Institute of science. An insult if there was ever one to be sure as his job entailed little more then sifting through each of his little brothers would be spawns embryos and making sure they didn't come out retarded, huzzah...

Talking to himself had recently become a coping mechanism and he dreaded the day he began responding in kind recognizing it as inevitability if this monotony kept up; rolling his eyes he singsonged "I am the very model of an over glorified gynecologist..." as he spun his computer chair with little enthusiasm. Sighing out loud he wondered for the tenth time in the past hour what on Earth he had done to earn this cursed assignment and eventually glanced at the days itinerary,

"Lets see, slut, bimbo, floozy, another slut, and... _THE_ fucking whore...interesting," V.V. tapped his fingertips together in contemplation while staring at the scan, all told the child to be had promise, very little wrong with this one in all actuality; as hard as it was to admit Marianne and Charles had produced an excellent specimen. Pity. Mulling over the idea of making the kid blind or cursing it with sickle cell anemia he had to remind himself that the end result would reflect directly on him, and if nothing else his ego demanded that he not make an inferior product. So that begged the question, how could he strike back at the uppity commoner harlot without it coming back at him and furthering the distance between himself and Charles...

"Hmm...well... Marianne _was_ worried about the stretch marks and weight gain from her pregnancy, and the amount of calories she has to consume for the implants to develop in the embryo are staggering..." Eyes widening at his idea he double checked the scans and grinned wickedly, oh yes this could work, it was petty, childish and beautifully enough untraceable. The short term pain he would cause that woman would be worth any reproach from Charles anyway, making the proper tweaks to the embryo he hit "Apply Changes" and leaned back with a smile, this ought to be fun.

 _ **Pendragon: Palace Aries Residence April 26 2000 A.T.B**_

"TWINS?!" Empress Marianne vi Britannia screamed for what Emperor Charles zi Britannia believed was the sixth time in half as many minutes as she heatedly paced about the room, he sighed inwardly then looked towards his beloved consort doing his best to keep his composure.

"Yes my dear, again, twins, the first in the past fifty years actually, you should be honored," she spun around and glared at him with pure malice in her eyes, his first honest thought as he stared into her fiery violet orbs was 'Oh shit' but much to his pride he held his ground, mostly. She stalked forward and stared him directly in the eyes as she poked a finger into his sternum,

"I. Am. The. Knight. Of. Two. I am a fighter and a one child pregnancy would have been difficult enough to maintain my duties, but playing gestation sack for two at once?! I'll be a whale!" She all but screeched this as she crossed her arms in a pout, racking his mind he remembered past conversations with his wife in record time,

'Ah...yes her concerns about her figure..this is not going to be pretty,' he mused while he silently cursed V.V. for somehow botching the procedure and planned petty vengeance in return, perhaps latrine duty... As if Marianne was reading his mind she threw her hands in the air and continued to rant,

"I bet that creepy little hobgoblin had a hand in this, his obsession with not sharing you gets more intense as time rolls on, and admit it please its weird hon!" Charles scowled and was prepared to defend his brother but staring at her enraged visage he decided that it probably wouldn't be worth it, especially since he shared her suspicions. Sighing he took her into his embrace and lowered his face into her hair inhaling her honeysuckle and blackberry scent, she relaxed against him as he ran a soothing hand down her back,

"My dear, it will only be for six more months, after that you may resume your regular duties," he paused contemplating the next 'carrot' then figured why not asking, "Would it appease you if we have another down the line I make sure V.V. isn't involved in the development?" Marianne considered this briefly then nodded on his chest sighing as he pulled her close.

'Booyah' he thought to himself, crisis averted.

 _ **Pendragon: Royal Family Hospital September 13, 2000 A.T.B**_

V.V. was giddy, after the birth of 11th Prince Lelouch vi Britannia and 3rd Princess Luluka vi Britannia Empress Marianne had gained over thirty pounds in excess weight. Nine months was a long time to wait for petty revenge but when you're immortal its the little things in life that keep you going; grinning like a madman the diminutive man-child observed the raven haired violet eyed twins in their bassinets.

'Odd, most children don't open their eyes this soon', V.V. had the unsettling feeling that the newborns were somehow observing him, somehow...judging him. Shaking off the creepy feeling he spun on his heel and left the maternity ward, 'Whatever, mission accomplished lets see if brother still loves that whore now that she's fat'.

 _ **Pendragon: Palace Aries Residence November 3, 2003 A.T.B.**_

Three year old Princess Luluka was excited, almost as excited as her brother Lelouch, while she didn't fully grasp the process she did understand the end result, today she would have a brand new little sister. The twin toddlers ran to their mothers room with more coordination then any child their age should have, but that was the norm for the vi Britannia twins; they could do anything together and the odd bond they shared that most of the big people didn't believe in meant they were never alone either. Making eye contact with her brother she thought,

'Knock Knock!', Lelouch smiled as he activated his implants broadcast protocols,

'Who's there!,' their little ritual complete she grinned back,

'What do you think her name is?'

Lelouch looked thoughtful for a moment then shrugged 'I dunno, but whatever it is I'm sure it will be pretty', approving the answer Luluka turned the corner and saw a group of big people causing her to sigh in resignation.

'Ok we gotta act like dumb kids and talk out loud for them,' an irritated scowl crawled up Lelouch's face as he replied verbally as demanded,

"I really hate acting dumb", Luluka could only agree but sadly most three year olds were learning to not eat crayons much less holding thoughtful conversations, best to blend in rather then be over analyzed. Approaching the door the twins looked to the guards and stated in unison "See baby!", the guard laughed at the childish statement and let them in, both doing their best to not roll their eyes they ran up to their tired mother who looked a bit too thin to be healthy but still radiated happiness.

"Lelouch, Luluka, I'd like you to meet your little sister, the 5th Princess Nunnally."

The giggling children rushed up to their new sibling and made cooing noises at the slumbering newborn nestled in her mothers arms, both showing complete adoration for the new addition to their vast family. Luluka laughed and turned to Lelouch,

"You were right brother, it was a pretty name" nodding sagely Lelouch continued to stare at the small gurgling form,

"We gotta make sure she stays safe, always," the twins made a mental agreement to protect their little sister at all costs and lady Marianne basked in the glory of it all,

'Lost 5 pounds in this pregnancy on top of the 30 from last' she thought happily as a broad grin spread across her face, 'Suck it V.V.'.

 _ **Pendragon: Palace Aries Residence July 6, 2009 A.T.B**_

Lelouch woke up screaming as indescribable pain crawled across his gut and a wave of regret rushed through his mind, flailing about he fell out of bed and quickly stood shakily to his feet trying to regulate his breathing as his lungs sucked in panicked breaths. Since Sister Cornelia did _not_ hire fools and wastrels to protect her favorite Empress's family Lelouch's screams drew his favorite guard Jerry who he quickly gasped out to,

"Luluka, shes...shes been hurt!" Lelouch liked Jerry alot, he never talked down to him and his sisters and he actually believed him when he explained his connection to Luluka, that unfortunately meant he started freaking the hell right out at his announcement. Grabbing his radio he contacted Lelouch's big sister Cornelia and told her to bring troops in and that the royal family was in danger, they then rushed out into the main hall to observe a scene that would haunt both knight and prince for the rest of their lives.

Lelouch's sisters were sprawled on the stairs leading down to the welcoming foyer of the palace, both were pinned beneath their bloodied mother and before the stunned prince could move forward machine gun fire tore through the front windows and sprayed down the entire area. Jerry being Jerry grabbed Lelouch and threw him down to the ground covering his charge with his body, both noticing that the fire was aimed everywhere BUT at the downed royals.

The fire ended abruptly but they lay prone for another minute, seemingly all clear they rushed down to his injured family, grabbing his mother Lelouch frantically shook her,

"Mother, Mother!" but alas, he could tell she was dead...and cold...why is she already cold? Jerry rolled the dead Empress off his sisters to see that Luluka was passed out with three gun shots stitched up her side, he could see that her implants were already regenerating her flesh and she was breathing evenly despite the grievous wounds. Before he could turn to Nunnally he heard Jerry sob, looking quickly he could see she had been shot repeatedly in the stomach and her eyes were staring off into space, "No No No we were supposed to protect you, no...no..". Jerry put his arm around Lelouch and tried to comfort him,

"My lord...have faith, she is still alive and her implants are working on overdrive to keep her stable. I... the ambulance is almost here, she will survive, I promise," wiping away tears the young prince scowled.

"Yes...yes you are correct she will...she has to.." Lelouchs analytical mind pushed through the sorrow long enough to scan the room and take in all the details he had previously ignored in his mad rush to protect his family.

'This...none of this makes sense, I've read enough coronary reports and anatomy books to know the human body takes hours to cool...mothers blood is already coagulated but that of my sisters is still warm and tacky, then there was those machine guns... none of this makes sense.' Sighing he ran a hand through his long hair as he turned to the now bloodstained guard, "Jerry...what exactly just happened here?" Jeremiah Gottwald gazed upon the room as his prince had and soon murmured his reply,

"I may be out of line here my lord but...this was no work of terrorists", at this Lelouch only nodded grimly while still applying pressure to his sisters wounds.

"That's why I like you Jerry, you're just as paranoid as I am."

 _ **Pendragon: Royal Family Hospital 24 hours later**_

Luluka was rather cross at the moment, being shot while trying to protect your kid sister from a maniac midget then having your dead mother thrown on top of you for your efforts will do that, the weirdest part of the whole situation is that she distinctly recalled her Father telling her she was to believe some insane tripe about terrorists. It was all so muddied, none of it made sense and the two scenarios kept warring in her mind for dominance, if she were to be honest with herself if Lelouch hadn't kept a standing vigil in her mind she probably would have gone insane.

'I think your mind was somehow altered' her brother said slowly as he formulated his own thoughts, 'nothing at the crime scene adds up, Jerry and I showed up far earlier then we would have otherwise since your pain awoke me and I rose the alarm'. Luluka pondered this for a second then responded,

'I have the strangest feeling we inadvertently mucked up someones scheming,' she received a feeling of agreement as she continued 'Lou...I'm scared'. Her brother remained silent for a moment too long proving his own wariness,

'I...I am too, there is so much wrong with this, did you know mother called off the guard a few hours beforehand? Cornelia is beside herself in grief, she feels she has failed but I saw the order myself, in mothers own handwriting.' Luluka digested that for a moment,

'Pardon my language brother but why the bloody hell would she do that?' His response was agitated and she could distinctly visualize him pacing about in a seething manner,

'I have no clue, her enemies are lining up to try and take apart her entire network of allies and this is feeling more and more like a setup from on high. Heh, I did manage to throw a wrench in their machinations by the way, released the Ashfords from their vows and publicly declared our disassociation before news of mothers death hit the media'. She actually laughed out loud at that one immediately regretting it, what with the wracking pain in her gut and all,

'Oh nice one, they'll be damaged politically but they'll still retain their titles and investments,' she received a responding shade of cockiness in return,

'Indeed,' after a moments awkward silence she asked what was really on her mind,

'Any news on Nunnally?' She dreaded the answer but his response was surprising if not pleasing,

'She'll likely make a full recovery, her spine had been severed by the bullet fragments but her regenerative implants were able to keep her stable enough for surgery, the weird part is shes...blind,' Luluka gasped at that,

'Wait what? How? That makes no sense she wasn't hit in the head,'

'How indeed, doctors say its psychological trauma but...well just like everything else from last night it makes no sense at all, Jerry by the way is ready to shoot any noble who comes near this wing aside from the li Britannia's, you were right about him he's a keeper'.

'Good man, now what do we do?' Lelouch sent a wave of bitterness through their link,

'I'm going to attempt to talk to father, for some reason he has called off the investigation and I want answers', oh hell, not good.

'Lelouch don't do anything rash, please,' a none committal noise was all she heard in return, 'Lelouch I'm serious you do anything stupid like renouncing your inheritance or flipping off the nobility I will personally kick your ass.' Lelouch's grouchy response of,

'Yeah yeah ok' was all she got before he severed the connection. Oh bloody wonderful.

* * *

As the throne room doors opened and he was announced to his father's court Lelouch stalked down the stairs anger obvious in every step, that is when he noticed the hundreds of royals and nobles in the room...not at all what he planned on dealing with today. Re-opening the link to his sister he thought 'Knock Knock, I'm letting you hear and see what I'm looking at', Luluka's response was immediate and annoyed,

'Do not do ANYTHING rash Lelouch, you're angry and I know it but be smart here'. Sighing Lelouch walked the rest of the distance ignoring the condescending smiles and thinly veiled amusement from the leaches of society as he silently _loathed_ them all to death in his mind.

'Oh how I hate them sister, out of the hundreds at court I can honestly say I can only stand maybe four of them'.

'Yes well you're almost to father so ditch the scowl and be prepared,' Lelouch stopped in front of the dais leading up to his father's throne as he fell to his knee and threw his right arm against his chest in salute while announcing his reason for being there.

"Hail your Royal Majesty, I bear grave news, my mother the Empress Marianne is dead," the Emperor stared down at him for a moment before he coldly stated,

"I already know of this, why have you brought me old news?" The twins both mentally recoiled from that but Charles took no notice as he continued his tirade. "You came before your emperor for that? Send in the next one," shaking in rage Lelouch was about to scream for him to avenge his mother and berate him for not even visiting his injured sisters when Luluka spoke up,

'Calm down and tell him about the setup, be smart dear brother,' Lelouch took a deep breath and looked back up to his father before continuing,

"Your highness may I approach the throne," at this Charles raised an eyebrow and motioned him to come forward, 'This is going to be interesting,' Lelouch thought cynically before he stopped at the foot of the his fathers throne. Lelouch licked his dry lips and took in a calming breath before he continued "I wish to discuss why you called off the investigation when it was obviously someone from the imperial court who murdered my mother and maimed my sisters."

To say that caused a stir would be an understatement, the murmuring in the room was almost universally appalled that he would do something as faux pas as stating the obvious, the Emperor though was curious what his son thought he knew.

"Oh indeed? Indulge me then." His son continued to surprise him by smiling viciously as he spread his hands out to his sides,

"Where shall I begin? The fact that when the 'Terrorists' fired upon the reception room my sisters had already been shot and strategically placed underneath my dead mother? Or the fact that my mother had obviously been dead for hours due to rigamortis and her coagulated blood pool? Or the fact that it was obvious someone shot Nunnally repeatedly with a high caliber, low velocity pistol to break her spine despite the weapons used in the attack were automatic rifles?" Taking a deep breath he continued "Despite the fact that all my mothers allies were put on the defensive and attacked before her body was even bagged? I'm sorry father I may only be ten years old but I know a setup when I see one".

The room was silent, no one dared utter a word, except of course for Lelouch, because at this point he was legitimately beyond caring, "That begs the question which one of these 'noble' people murdered their Empress and my mother as they attempted to use this tragedy to destroy my family and associates?" The Emperor stared down at him for a time and Lelouch almost gasped when his composure softened as he nodded to the prince,

"Your sisters have...lost much value to me my son" the acknowledgment of Lelouch as his son stunned the crowd, this was not what they had wanted, "Yet you...you may still have some worth, I am in the need of a pawn to placate Japan, you will be that pawn." Lelouch stared dumbstruck when Luluka prodded him,

'Don't refuse it just try to bring us along, its dangerous here and Nunnally needs time to heal,' shaking his head he responded quickly but properly,

"I will do this only if I may bring my sisters with me, your Majesty," Charles stared down at him a moment before asking,

"And if I refuse?", Lelouch smirked lightly in return,

"You won't my dear father simply because you are aware that a willing servant is more useful then a resentful slave."

The chattering had stopped completely and the crowd stared at Lelouch in shock, then of all things the Emperor _laughed_ , several loud harsh barks before he turned back to his son, smiling widely the entire time.

"Lelouch...you...you have surprised me, you may one day be of even greater use to me. You may take your sisters and a retainer with you, do your best to serve Britannia, my son". With that Lelouch was dismissed, saluting one final time he spun on his heel to leave as he recieved one last message from his sister,

'Give 'em the creepy smile brother,' Lelouch chuckled and gave the crowd what Cornelia had dubbed his "Slasher Grin" as he walked out of the throne room, time to tell Jerry they needed to pack.

 _ **In Transit over the Pacific one week later**_

Jeremiah Gottwald was still in a state of shock, when his young lord had returned from his audience with the Emperor he had been prepared for the worst, what he had not been prepared for was a cheerful Lelouch asking him if he would be his Knight of Honor. He'd gladly accepted in surprise then found out about the excursion to Japan, which honestly upset him at first before it was broken down for him, his lord and ladies needed to get as far from the courts of Pendragon as possible. So that was why he was reading a still recovering Nunnally a magazine about Japanese customs while Lelouch and Luluka played chess, it was always intriguing to see the children play games of strategy, while their other opponents lasted ten minutes at best these two could play for hours and never have a clear victor.

Sighing in resignation Luluka stretched out,

"Lou this is BORING! Lets play poker or black jack instead!" Jeremiah looked shocked,

"My lady where did you learn to play such games of chance?" The twins sounded off together,

"Cornelia," Ah...no surprise there,

"Well then...shall I deal you two in?" They exchanged a grin then ran up to join him next to Nunnally, Jeremiah let out a happy laugh as he started shuffling the deck while he explained the rules of the game to Nunnally who could't play but wanted to participate.

'Some days' he thought to himself 'I truly love my job' and with that they wiled away the time till they landed in Tokyo.

 _ **Tokyo Japan, July 14 2009 A.T.B.**_

Lelouch walked down the ramp of their private plane following a still chuckling Jerry, apparently losing eight consecutive games of Texas Hold 'Em to a pair of ten year olds was amusing as hell to the young man. Looking around the airport Lelouch realized two things, first off all airfields looked the same and it was bloody HOT here, he was about to relay this to his twin when she undid the buttons on her collar fanning herself while muttering "bollocks". Ah, well hopefully the heat would be beneficial to Nunnally's recovery, she was already walking again with the aid of crutches and while she was complaining about headaches her vision was returning and regressing at seeming random.

As they gathered at the bottom of the ramp they saw a limousine approach from the terminal building, as it pulled up two figures stepped out, one a stern looking man and the other a young boy roughly Lelouch's age scowling at their party. Lelouch and Luluka approached the pair as he sent a thought to his sister,

'Bow to them but not too deeply, we're smaller so he'd have to get closer to the ground and it would be a grave insult,' his sister sighed and responded,

'I truly find the obsession men have for honor tedious,' ignoring her comment Lelouch addressed the older man,

"Prime Minister Genbu Kururugi, I am Prince Lelouch Vi Britannia and these are my sisters Princesses Luluka and Nunnally vi Britannia, this fine gentleman is my Knight Jeramiah Gottwald, I like to call him Jerry", with that the twins and oddly enough Nunnally managed a respectable choreographed bow.

The stern man seemed to soften a tiny bit as he and the boy returned the the bow, he gestured to the child and stated,

"This is my son, Suzaku Kururugi" the boy nodded once as his father continued, "shall we get moving along?" Luluka smiled dazzlingly at Suzaku as she rushed forward,

"I'll sit next to the cutie!" She stated causing Lelouch to roll his eyes, Suzaku to blush, and Genbu to snort, she grabbed the now stuttering boy and dragged him to the limo. Lelouch made eye contact with Genbu and shrugged sheepishly,

"Well at least it will be an interesting visit no?" Genbu's stare was becoming uncomfortable before the man cracked a smile and opened the limo door for Lelouch,

"Young man the day you start understanding the fairer sex is the day you get committed to a psych ward", Jerry barked out a laugh and they moved on to the Kururugi Residence.

 _ **Kururugi Shrine, August 10, 2010 A.T.B**_

It had been a solid year since they had arrived in Japan and Luluka had to admit she was loving it, sure she missed her mother but as Jeremiah had said, "We can mourn the past but we cannot dwell on it". With Nunnally almost fully recovered the three siblings had taken up martial arts with Suzaku's sensei Tohdoh, Lelouch despised the physical activity but the idea of her being able to beat the hell out of him at will encouraged him to work hard.

Genbu had begun treating them all like extended family and even overruled his witch of a wife on some of her more malicious attempts to make their lives miserable, and Suzaku... Yeah she admitted it she was a bit smitten with the hard headed smart mouth, he was just so... _earnest_ especially when compared to her siblings back in Pendragon. With a pang she remembered the homeland...and the news Jerry had brought them, they'd considered sitting on the information afraid it wold be considered treason but Nunnally won out and they warned the Kururugi's...Britannia was mobilizing for war.

Sighing sadly she continued her sparing with Suzaku,

"So Suzu, how do you think I'm doing thus far?" She asked this as she took several swipes at him with her practice shoto, she had really come to love the little short swords in the past months, her partner laughed as he countered with his botan,

"Way better then Lelouch that's for sure," as he said this there was a muffled yet amused,

"I bloody heard that!" from the house, they continued to laugh as Nunnally watched them happily. All things concerned life was good, if there hadn't been the impending invasion from her fathers bloody desire for conquest she could actually enjoy her existence out here, a cloud seemed to briefly cover the sky then she heard a sonic boom. With a start she looked up just in time to see the house explode, with Lelouch inside.

 _ **Undisclosed Location 30 seconds later**_

V.V. smiled in malicious victory, now that the spawn of that infernal woman were dead Charles would have to pay him his undivided attention, life was good.

 _ **Kururugi Shrine, August 10, 2010 A.T.B.**_

Lelouch vaguely wondered if this horrid pain was how mother felt in her last moments, he'd been lucky when the bomb hit, having just walked out the front door to go harass his friend and sisters when his life become chaos, fire, and wetness. Wetness? He tried lifting his left arm to wipe the offending fluid off his face while bracing himself with the right, but nothing happened, in confusion he looked down to see that his arm was...gone. Nearly his entire left arm had been pulverized and he stared at the bloody misshapen stump in abject horror. Well, it does explain why he was coated with blood, and with that cheery thought...

'Not good Not Good Not Good!' began screaming through his thoughts, apparently out loud because Luluka latched onto him,

'BROTHER! Are you all right?' Without even thinking about it he sent her the image of his arm, he heard her shriek from the other side of the crater. Focusing Lelouch activated the prepared programs for his implants, he cut the blood vessels to the stump off and deactivated the nerve endings in that arm, with a sigh of bliss he stood up with the horrific pain becoming a dull ache. Stumbling towards the wreckage of the house he yelled,

"Suzaku, get over here we need to grab food, weapons, and get the hell out of here, that was a first strike fighter and special forces could be here at anytime to make sure the jobs done!" The group ran up to Lelouch and stopped in horror at the sight of his damaged limb, sighing in exasperation he continued gesturing with his bleeding stump, "Yes yes my arm is blown up, Nunnally grab as much canned food from the pantry as you can find and bag it."

Turning to his twin and swaying a bit he gestured towards what use to be Genbu's drawing room, "Lulu help Suzaku gather weapons, I know his dad had an old Nambu pistol as well as his blade collection," taking a breath while he ordered his implants to inject morphine he stumbled over to a damaged desk and pulled out an old piece of rice paper and a pen. Glancing up he saw the three still staring at him so he screamed "GO NOW! We have five minutes and then we are gone," and with that the group dispersed. Lelouch spent the time writing the letter for his Knight and stuffing it back in the desk, he took out a pen knife and etched "L.B., L.B., N.B." on it in hopes the man could figure it out without too much trouble.

The group reassembled and Lelouch forced them to march out into the woods, when they were a few miles from the destroyed house he finally relented and let his family tend to his wound.

"Oh Lou...what are we going to do with you?" Luluka sighed sadly, Lelouch just smiled wanly in return,

"Hey don't worry, this just gives me an excuse to get an awesome robot arm, bet I can even get it with racing stripes!" While he forced the enthusiasm the attempt at least made the other three smile; it wasn't like it mattered with his Royal Grade implants he had absolute control over his bodily functions while his reservoirs were full, he was not going to die from blood loss or disease...it just hurt like hell. Turning to the pile of weapons he asked Suzaku, "What do we have?", his friend turned and handed Lelouch the ancient Nambu semi-automatic pistol.

"You're a better shot with that then I am, found a pair of Shoto's for Lulu and a Naginita for Nunnally, I have my dads katana as well,"

Lelouch smiled at this, oh yes reality sucked at the moment, his arm was gone, his temporary home had been blown up and he and his family were stuck in a war zone; but they were armed, they were motivated, he had a destination and they weren't in Pendragon. He felt safer already.

* * *

 **This is my first attempt at a major revamp of a story, my goal is to remove as much campy amataur writing as possible while still keeping the fun action/adventure tone I was shooting for to begin with. I'd only say more then half of this is an honest rework so I'd love to hear your response, so as always with all my works, PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. A Broken Mirror

_**Pendragon, Royal Throne Room Private Chambers August 10, 2010 A.T.B.**_

Staring down at the various reports detailing the invasion of Japan Charles zi Britannia's stoic visage remained calm while internally he was frothing with rabid rage; his brother, that little conniving leprechaun had concocted an elaborate hoax to murder his only true love then use it to destroy her name and children. What really torced the ruler of Britannia was that the plot was so ridiculously amateurish and convoluted that his ten year old son had figured out the majority of it on his own in an afternoon despite grieving over the loss of his mother at that time.

If Marianne's spirit channeled through young Anya hadn't reminded him that he needed the back stabbing little shit for Ragnarök he would have already thrown him in a cage and kicked it into the middle of the Pacific. Anya...now if that wasn't creepy as hell even by _his_ standards, he'd offer up no complaints that he at least had Marianne around to talk to but the physical comfort would never be there again, he was a bastard yes but not a monster. Stewing in his rage he forced himself to remain calm and rational as he glared at the monitor before him, just as he feared the three pings that indicated the locations of his children in Japan had now gone completely silent.

This was the final nail in V.V.s coffin, he had sent the three to Japan to keep them safe from the traitor's jealousy but that wasn't good enough, V.V. had to push up the time table for the invasion while Charles slept and had ordered a seemingly inconsequential airstrike on a meaningless shrine in the wilderness. A shrine that happened to house the only offspring he held any affection for, and they had all died in a fiery conflagration more then likely thinking they had been betrayed by not only their nation but their father as well. The thought caused him to grit his teeth in rage as the pen in his hand was crushed into plastic splinters and a sad squirt of ink that slowly bled into his white glove.

'Marianne,' he thought out, 'I do not know if I have the strength to _not_ carve his face off with a vegetable peeler,' there was a pause then the reassuring presence of his wife entered his mind and it felt as if a soothing balm was spread across his emotions.

'My love as much as it pains me to say this...we need the little bastard,' she sighed then continued 'I know we'll see them again once we kill God but...Charles?' He sent a feeling of reassurance to the restless spirit to prompt her to continue, 'When its time for him to die...let me do it, let me make him pay for killing my babies,' out loud Charles chuckled mirthlessly.

"My dear it will be my pleasure to allow you this honor".

 _ **Kururugi Shrine, August 11 2010 A.T.B.**_

Jeramiah Gottwald openly gaped at the destroyed shrine that had been the home to his charges and himself for the past year, his military mind demanding he make the observation that it was fairly clear the airstrike had been deliberate and precise but he tried to push away the follow up thoughts until later. Mutely dropping the bags of supplies he'd gone to town for he walked towards the still smoldering ruins in shock as he numbly began sifting through the ashes. While twilight had recently fallen and visibility was terrible his knowledge of the shrines floor plan was decent enough to find the trunk he kept his equipment in; to his honest surprise it was still intact so he had a pistol, torch, and night vision goggles at the least.

He stopped to equip himself and continued his search, then he found...it, there smeared on the ground right outside the blast radius were bloody chunks of burnt flesh and what could only be a child's hand, he didn't know who it had belonged to but in all reality what did it matter? Cradling the proof of his failure as tears ran down his face he silently contemplated what to do next, in truth this was only evidence of an injury not a death so perhaps...

Almost reverently placing the hand back on the ground Jeremiah reentered the shattered home to continue his search, maybe...maybe one of them survived, it was a blind hope but it was solid enough of one to keep moving. Entering what was left of Genbu's drawing room he paused as he took in the wreckage, Jeremiah had fond memories of this once welcoming office and the hours he'd spent discussing politics with the Prime Minister over sake; he sighed sadly running his hand over the burnt desk when he noticed several deep scratches messily carved into the fine oak.

Blinking rapidly he lifted the goggles to his forehead and cupped his hand over his torch before flicking it on, turning the subdued light onto the scorched surface he could clearly see three initials carved into it exposing the raw wood underneath. Eyes widening in realization he began tearing the drawers open until he found a folded note labeled 'Jerry', he opened it gently and read on in growing excitement:

 _'Jerry, we were right had to be an inside job, we're all alive but I lost an arm, don't freak out I have it under control. Luluka already dumped a software package in your implants labeled "Hide and Seek", this will disable your IFF but open you to ours, do so and you can track us. We're making off with what food and weapons we can find and heading to my mother's old friend in Tokyo, the old man owes me one anyway, see you soon my knight._

 _L.V.B'_

Smiling victoriously Lord Jeremiah stood as his resolve hardened and prepared to make after his prince when he heard rumbling in the distance, quickly exiting the ruin Jeremiah saw an APC and two Glasgow's approaching the desecrated shrine. Circling around the wreckage as the units approached the Knight evaded the spinning spot lamps and waited for the vehicles to pass, as they all came to a halt the APC began disgorging troops from it's armored egress and both Knightmare pilot's descended from their cockpits.

Raising an eyebrow at this questionable tactic as the soldiers spread out Jeremiah slowly worked his way to one of the parked frames, picking one he rode it's winch and promptly sat himself in the still open cockpit that was spilling a dull glow behind the unmanned sentinel. Sealing the unit's cockpit shut Jeremiah paused in surprise as the last received message replayed.

"- _nd Lord V.V. has also stated that the soldier who successfully ends the vi Britannia line will be given a lordship, good hunting men"_. Jeremiah saw red, these bastards had come in force to murder children, his charges! Oh how they were going to pay in a manner that would be remembered for generations.

Raising the Knightmare to its feet Jeremiah swung the war machines rifle around and dropped a grenade round into both the remaining Knightmare and the APC, grinning with vengeful glee he flipped the loudspeakers on as he bellowed out, "My Loyalty is beyond question _!_ Die sinners, and know that it was your own hubris that led to your demise! _"_ Only one man walked away from the Kururugi Shrine that night, and he was on a mission to save his Prince and Princesses.

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 **Hells Bells how did you people read this when I originally released this story?! I intended to combine chapters like before but Kallen deserves her own story, so here you go. Enjoy. Please review.**


	3. Enter Kallen

**I kept the original author's notes, and I _think_ I edited out most of the amateur from this, but really I hope you all enjoy this redo. Ugh, I know I had to have missed something... Why did 2014 Nem suck so bad at editing? Once again, ugh...**

 **Read and review!**

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 _ **Japanese Countryside, 30 kilometers outside Tokyo August 20 2010 A.T.B.**_

Kallen was scared, so was her big brother Naota, even though he didn't show it.

Mom and dad had been arguing for awhile now, their car broken down and their phones getting no signal, there were bright flashes and booms in the distance but Naota tried to convince her it was thunder.

Everything had gotten so scary in the past week, they had been on summer holiday visiting some of her mom's family in Nagasaki when things started exploding and dead people filled the streets, Kallen may be sheltered but she knew perfectly well they were at war with...someone.

Maybe that's why mom and dad were fighting, maybe Britannia had finally invaded Japan like Naoto had said they would.

Hopping out of the car in boredom Kallen walked over to a small wooded area a bit away from the road, waving absently to her dad when he said not to go too far, Naoto was sleeping in the back seat so he was no fun to play with...ugh.

Looking through the trees she could have sworn she saw a one armed boy making his way through the brush, she was about to yell if he needed help when she heard her mother scream. Turning around in shock she saw that a Britannian APC had pulled up beside their car and they were trying to grab her mom, they were tearing at her clothes and holding her father to the ground, she rushed out of the woods to help them when she saw one of the men shoot her dad in the head.

As she got closer one of the men had taken her dads wallet out and started swearing loudly.

"FUCK! FUCKING STOP TOUCHING HER!" his companions in the middle of unloosing their pants looked at him in confusion as he continued "You fucking idiots just murdered a Duke! This is Duke Fucking Stadtfeld! You're trying to rape a Duchess!" The other men stared at their manic comrade in horror at this revelation.

The cameras in their helmets recorded everything, while treating the Japs like animals wouldn't even be commented on this...this was execution of a Nobel without trial. As they were trying to figure out what to do Naoto rushed out of the car holding his dads pistol running towards the men blindly firing, the Britannians raised their rifles to shoot when his mom dove in the way to protect him, they were both dead in seconds.

"FUCK!" The first soldier yelled again "Will you idiots stop murdering nobility!?" The other five soldiers once again realizing their idiotic mistake started swearing amongst themselves until one noticed the running form of Kallen falling next to her father.

"Dad?! Daddy?! Daddy wake up!".

The soldiers honestly didn't know what to do at this point, until one of them said, "...the APC stores all the data from our recorders then uploads them at the end of the day...if we...tie up loose ends and blow up the truck no one will know what happened".

This thought seemed to cheer up the other soldiers except for the one still holding Lord Stadtfeld's wallet, "Are you seriously going to murder a little girl to cover your own asses!? I won't allow it!"

The others exchanged looks for a moment then raised their weapons simultaneously and emptied their magazines into their shocked companion.

They turned to the now terrified Kallen who only kept muttering, "No No No No," while grasping her fathers hand.

The new leader of the group sighed, took out a pistol and aimed it at Kallen's head, "Sorry about this kid, survival of the fittest and all."

As he was pulling the trigger a shot rang out and the mans neck ruptured, gurgling blood he fell to the ground with a look of confusion permanently marring his face.

Turning they all saw a bloodied, one armed boy wearing the tattered clothes of a nobleman holding a smoking pistol, he smiled at the shocked troops as he stated, "Only those that are willing to die should be allowed to kill".

Struggling to reload their rifles one of the men let out a strangled yelp as a small figure with long raven black hair jumped on his back slitting his throat with a knife that looked like the one in Ohgi-sensei's collection.

She watched numbly as a Japanese boy rushed towards two more soldiers disemboweling them with a katana, the last panicking soldier had just gotten a new mag in his rifle when a small Brittanian girl stabbed him in the eye with a thin polearm.

'How the hell does a twig like that girl have the strength to do that?' she thought tiredly.

As quickly as it started the conflict was over.

The one armed boy looked to his companions and said, "Suzaku, Nunu, gather their weapons and toss them into the APC, suddenly we have a ride, Luluka look for any documentation in that car, these folks were nobles and it might be useful for later."

The one armed boy turned towards Kallen and offered her his remaining hand, "And who might you be my lady?" she saw cunning and earnestness in his amethyst eyes and quickly decided to reply honestly.

"I'm...I am the Lady Kallen Stadtfeld..."

The boy smiled sadly and said, "I'm Prince Lelouch Vi Britannia. Please don't tell anyone that though, there are a bunch of idiot adults who keep trying to kill me and its getting a bit tedious as time goes on."

On any other day Kallen may have been squealing with delight to meet royalty but surrounded by the blood of her family she could only nod. Pulling herself to her feet Lelouch lead her to the now dead soldiers truck.

"We're heading to Tokyo to call in a favor with an old friend, I think it would be in your best interest to come with us," as she was about to respond she let out a scream as a Glasgow came barreling out of the trees towards them.

It came to a halt and the pilot bailed out bellowing, "My Lord! What has happened here!? I told you I would return with supplies soon!"

Lelouch waved his concern off in a tired manner, "Relax Jerry we found another group of marauders and they were about to kill this young lady after they did in her Lord father."

The pilot, this Jeremiah looked around in disgust noticing the bullet riddled soldiers before focusing on a body separate from the others.

"What about him?" Kallen spoke up surprising both knight and prince as she worried the hem of her blouse before continuing on.

"He...he tried to stop them, they wanted to kill me and destroy their vehicle...to hide what they did...and he tried to stop... He tried to stop them from killing me!" Just like that, everything that had happened hit her and she broke down sobbing.

Escorting Kallen to the APC Lelouch murmured to Jeremiah, "Take his tags and leave him in the car with the family, leave the rest to rot."

The man nodded in understanding and went to work, Lelouch entered the vehicle to see his family tearing into a stack of MRE's like a pack of angry wolves.

Grabbing a candy bar he offered it to Kallen and sat down next to her holding her tight as she sobbed to herself, Lelouch feeling like a bit of a prat not having anything to comfort her with other than food.

The family all exchanged glances then nodded, they would let her into the group, she had suffered as much if not more then they, and the family would protect her.

Luluka glanced up at Suzaku and asked, "Wait...I'm at twelve how about you Suzaku?"

The boy grinned and said, "Thirteen purple eyes."

The girl muttered, "bugger" and went back to eating.

Kallen looked up in confusion and the small girl with the spear said, "They keep score on how many soldiers they've taken out, it would be funny if it wasn't so morbid".

The black haired girl who she realized must be the prince's twin snorted and sardonically asked, "And how many are you at dear Nunnally?"

The small girl shrugged, "Six, you guys wouldn't let me help until we ran into that pair of psychos shooting up the suburbs."

"Yes well...we were trying to keep your hands clean, sadly the Britannian military didn't want to cooperate in that regard," Lelouch replied as he let out a sad sigh for lost innocence.

Gathering her bravery she asked, "How...how do you guys fight so well? How are you able to take on grown adults?"

Luluka spoke up, "Same reason Lou over there isn't dead, we have Royalty Grade implants and nanotech, stronger faster smarter, blah blah blah. All it means right now is we're bloody hard to assassinate which honestly is all I care about right now".

'Ah' she thought 'Daddy had been talking about that, some rumor that the high courts coveted the most advanced bio-engineering or the like, it never really matter to me though'.

She watched as Lord Jeremiah entered the APC which earned a raised eyebrow from Lelouch.

The knight sighed apologetically "Sorry my lord the Glasgow's energy filler is empty, nothing to be done for it."

Shrugging Lelouch said, "Its fine, this thing should have enough juice to get us to the Tokyo city limits at least, if you wouldn't mind I believe I need some sleep."

Jeremiah nodded and soon took the driver's seat and started the APC setting the heavy machine in motion.

Kallen felt her head fall to Lelouch shoulder as her eyelids grew heavy, eventually whispering out, "Mom, Dad, Naoto, I'll always love you and miss you...but for now...I need to survive"

With that she passed out leaving an understanding Lelouch staring at her still form.

"You'll be fine, I promise that," he whispered.

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 **Author Note: So now the team is complete! I kinda felt bad killing off her whole family but for where I wanted her in the story she had to be on her own and have a reason to stay at Ashford long term. I'm honestly not sure if I did it well, I kinda found the whole "Pulling the APC over to rape the eleven woman for no reason" thing was kind of cliche but I really couldn't find an effective way to kill the family off otherwise, so if anyone knows of someone who has done something similar but better please point me to their story I'd love to compare notes so to speak.**

 **If anyone is wondering about Nunnally killing I need to point out that she is the daughter of Marianne the Flash and freaking Charles Zi Britannia.**

 **The reason she was so innocent was because she was sheltered, now she is exposed and has to embrace the dark side a bit. Annnd I get the cop out that she's got cybernetics enhancing her strength so she can use a naginata, hooray for contrived plot points! Anyway until next time kiddos leave a review I'd love to hear what you all think!**


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